happy 90th birthday, great grandma!

tonight we celebrated great grandma's (aka "great nana") 90th birthday with nana's extended family at a lovely restaurant, the boathouse. madelyn talked about great grandma's birthday most of the way there, sang "happy birthday", and held the presents. as you would expect she was very interested in the presents. we asked her if she remembered what the presents were, her response - "toys". after laughing we reminded her that we had painted picture frames for great grandma and that really got her excited!

she had a wonderful time painting a picture frame a few weeks ago at a pottery place near our house. we picked out the frame, but madelyn picked the colors (white, pink, and purple) and painted the whole thing herself. she even knew to rinse her brush between colors (at first anyway). she was having so much fun that she started to scrape the paint off so that she would have room to paint some more. we added her name to the frame and then put a picture of her in it for great grandma. she loves painting!

madelyn finished her dinner rather quickly and was bouncing off the walls so daddy and uncle derek took turns walking with her outside. she requested to go on a "ship", or so i was told. she later started calling them "boats". she also spent the evening showering nana, papa, and uncle derek with hugs and kisses. she has this thing right now where she is most interested in whoever is not visible which basically left her running in circles giving her hugs. it was a lovely evening for a lovely lady.

madelyn fell asleep shortly after we got in the car and we thought that she might be down for the night, but she just woke up after sleeping for about an hour so we will see how the rest of the night goes...

we did manage to get a family picture after dinner that i think came out pretty well (minus my pale, swollen legs). she was so good this trip! we are heading home after breakfast tomorrow so we will see how the return car ride goes (we are planning to stop for some shopping on the way). love.

farm fun

we made it! it took about six hours (with a cracker barel lunch break - where madelyn ate like she had not eaten in days), but we had a very nice trip to north manchester to visit for great-grandma's 90th birthday celebration weekend. last night we visited with papa's brother dennis at his farm. great aunt joy made a wonderful dinner for all of us and matt's cousins and their families came over to visit too.

not only was there a lot of family to visit with, but we got to enjoy all of the fun things on great uncle dennis and great aunt joy's farm. here are a few of the pictures from last night. i am posting while madelyn is trying to nap in the next bed at the hotel before we meet up for great grandma's birthday dinner in a few hours. madelyn is a little confused by the "great" titles - i think that we might have to call her "great nana" to make things a little clearer (she keeps looking for her "grandma" from florida when we say "great grandma").

madelyn sitting with the big kids - nolan, leah, and dayton - on the golf cart.

almost sleeping while riding on uncle derek's shoulders during our hike after dinner - she really loves her uncle derek.

daddy swinging out over the creek. madelyn kept saying that it was "maddie's turn too" and great uncle dennis offered to hold her and swing, but daddy and i were too chicken to let her try - yet.

madelyn got to swing with nana and dayton instead at the cabin on top of the hill. there were these little seed like things from the tree and madelyn kept saying that they were worms. she wouldn't walk on the grass because there were too many "worms". daddy finally convinced her that they were not worms, but part of the tree and then she was good to explore again.

here she is swinging with help from great uncle dennis. a few minutes later he helped her swing by hanging upside down from her knees, which she loved.

a family picture with papa, nana, uncle derek, mommy (and baby brother), madelyn, and daddy at the farm.
all of us with the indiana g family. it was so great to visit with everyone again!

there is an hour time difference and madelyn stayed up until like 10:30 local time before finally conking out. we weren't sure how she would do sleeping in a big bed in the same room with us at the hotel, but she did great! she was exhausted from our day, but was too excited to sleep. she was singing all kinds of songs to friend - including "happy birthday". she has been singing happy birthday to (and for) daddy and me since i told her that we were coming for great grandma's birthday - she also sings it for great grandma. she has yet to sing it to great grandma, but i think she will do it tonight at dinner with the rest of us.

this morning we went back to great grandma's and were surprised because madelyn remembered which building was her's. granted she also pointed across the street to say that "maddie's house" was over there and our neighbor "dan's house" was next to it.

we met up with great grandma, nana, papa, uncle derek, and nana's siblings for breakfast. madelyn was lucky enough to get a ride from great grandma as we were walking around the hallways. she has also really enjoyed seeing an impressive caged bird display and fish tank. she is just loving all the new sights!

more of our trip to come later. love.

some things i have learned...

here are two insights that i have recently come to that i thought i would share:

1. mylanta is the greatest!

2. products marketed as "mess-free" really mean that they are messier than the regular option.

i finally broke down and called the doctor's office about my acid reflux. they told me that i could take any of the over the counter options but suggested that i start with mylanta because it will coat my esophagus and give me the most immediate relief. while the taste and texture almost gave me heaves, the relief was amazing! i am always hesitant to take anything while pregnant, but i can pretty much guarantee that i will take it a few more times before baby boy arrives.

now for my second insight about "mess-free" products. we haven't had a lot of luck with the lidless markers and other mess-free products, but i thought that i would give the finger paints a try. i just wanted a new craft for rainy days inside. we have have had a few inside days in a row this week, so i decided to give it a go.

now madelyn had a great time, but i was a mess trying to slow her consumption of the clear gel-like paint. she didn't really get the color selection part of it because the color markers are on the lids and when they are open you can't tell what color is being selected. not only that, but it takes a little while for the color reaction on the paper to occur.

i took a picture of the three masterpieces she created in about 10 minutes and with more than half of the paint. i think that a topographical picture would have better captured how much paint she used without spreading around.

it actually took madelyn a little while to get into the finger painting. she kept asking for a brush. and, honestly, she is a much neater painter with a brush. she even understands rinsing her brush between colors - not so much with the "mess-free" paints. it was everywhere! she did do a great job wiping off the table when i finally called it quits. i had hoped to get an hour or at least a half-hour out of this activity, but didn't want it to be a one time thing because the paint wasn't really cheap.

the moral of my tale - just get the regular art supplies. maybe consider the washable formula, but skip anything labeled "mess-free".

posting note - we are heading out to celebrate madelyn's great-grandma's 90th birthday this weekend so it might be a while before i post again. unless i can find some internet access... love.

feeding the goats

yesterday madelyn and i went to the zoo in the morning. the weather wasn't great at all (cold, windy, and rainy) and i was blown away by how many people were there! it was one of the most crowded days we have ever seen there.

as one last treat, i decided to let madelyn try feeding the goats again (it didn't go so great last year). she loved it! i think it has to do with all the time she has been spending with our dogs because she treated the goats the same way. she even hugged a few - at the end of the video you can see her tilt her head as she is going in for a hug but changes her mind for some reason.

i didn't get to post yesterday because i got in bed at 6:30 as soon as daddy got home from work. i have been waking up at night with acid reflux in addition to my bathroom and water breaks. not to mention madelyn threw in three wake-ups of her own just for fun. she came in our room at 3:15am to announce that she was ready to "watch george" after wishing me a "good morning, mommy". i was able to talk her in to going back to bed but she only stayed there for about an hour before repeating her morning greeting at 4:30am. again we went back to her room talking about the fact that the sun was not up yet. she did wake up one more time a little after 5, crying, but it was short lived and then she slept until 7:30. i, however, was more than exhausted.

i am going to take some mylanta tonight (for the first time in my life) in the hope of eliminating one of the many things robbing me of my sleep.

i did want to note one more nickname that i have given madelyn that makes us all laugh - "thumbelina poopiepants". i call her "thumbelina" when she is sucking her thumb with friend and the "poopiepants" when she won't let us change her poopie diapers. they have become a combo over the past two days because she will go to her room for the diaper change but then hide under the covers with friend sucking her thumb and laughing. love.

"pretty face"

as i was wiping off madelyn's chin after lunch today i told her to let me see her "pretty face" because she was looking down and i needed to see if i got everything off. this is the face i got.

i came to realize that she would give this face every time i said "pretty face" (as in "show me/daddy your pretty face") and we had fun showing daddy at dinner tonight. love.

happy memorial day!

daddy didn't get as far as he wanted on his landscaping yesterday, so madelyn and i headed to the local memorial day parade by ourselves. i wasn't really sure how much of a parade it would be, but i figured that there would at least be a marching band and that should be enough for madelyn to be happy.


we got there about 15 minutes before the parade started and were able to find a place on the curb and in the sun - very important. unfortunately, it was very, very windy and that made it cold. it was a lot colder than i had planned for and most (almost all) people were wrapped up in jackets and blankets. because of the sun we weren't too cold until the parade actually started.


anyway, there were a few formation flyovers, representatives from different military branches, firemen, police, sheriff, and a few high school marching bands. all in all i think it maybe lasted 15 minutes (or less). madelyn was so excited to "see it coming". she stood and clapped for the flag presentations. after the first band went by madelyn turned to me and asked, "where'd the parade go?" and then she looked down the road and said, "there it is! i see it! more parade!" she kept telling me that she was going to dance with the band and would step out into the road, but as soon as the band would get close she would step back onto the sidewalk. i think that the drums were her favorite part because that is what she talked about for the rest of the day - the "big drums".

madelyn's big thing this weekend has been saying, "i did it!" it has been either, "yea, i did it!", or, "ta-da! i did it!" and it's not just when she does something new and wants to celebrate - it has been lots of ordinary things too.


this picture is just one that i thought was cute from yesterday of her and her friend. she wanted to have her picture taken, but i only got this one before her thumb went in.

madelyn got totally spoiled on our trip to the grocery store saturday! we always end every trip to the store by looking at all the balloons and flowers. we were in the refrigerated flower case smelling the roses when i decided that she could pick a carnation to take home (the cheapest option). as we were heading back to the cart an employee asked if i wanted the flower wrapped up. seeing as how it was only one carnation i told her that wouldn't be necessary, but maybe clipping it a little shorter would be nice. she then offered madelyn some ribbon for her flower. and madelyn picked out some

pink ribbon that the lady tied on and curled for her. after seeing how thrilled madelyn was with the ribbon, she offered her a balloon too. and not just a balloon, but she gave madelyn a 'bracelet' of floral mesh (like the put over gerber daisy) to tie the balloon too so that it wouldn't fly away if she let go. what a special treat!


madelyn was so, so, so excited about her bounty of treats! i couldn't get her to hold still far enough away from me so that i could get her and her balloon in the picture. she was so worried about her balloon being too high to get through the doorway leaving the store and going into our house. she looked up the whole time and pulled the balloon as low as she could by pulling the ribbon. when we got home she could hardly get out of the car before she was calling for daddy so that he could see her flower and balloon. she headed straight down the hill to the back of the house because she knew that daddy was back there "digging" for his plants. it was so cute. love.

35 weeks

so i have reached another time when i have a picture of my pregnancy with madelyn to compare belly size. not that either one of the pictures are particularly great of me. it always seems like these pictures are taken in a hurry because they won't get taken otherwise. you might be able to tell that he (in the striped shirt) is sticking out more than madelyn (in the red dress) was at this point. but you can't really tell how much lower he is because of what i am wearing - you'll just have to take my word for it.



















i think that i have put on about 20 lbs. or so at this point. (i had put on 30/31 lbs. with madelyn by the end.) i probably feel the best i have the entire pregnancy so that is nice, but i am barely sleeping at night. i try not to nap during the day because that is not a habit i want to get into - i don't have the time. plus, i am getting to the point where i don't feel tired because the lack of sleep is so consistent. thankfully, madelyn has been sleeping until 6:30 or 7:00 lately.

he gets the hick-ups every evening and seems to be awake during the day and sleeping at night. overall, the activity seems very similar to madelyn so i am hoping for another great sleeper when he gets here.

lastly, here is some video of madelyn's favorite thing to do with my belly - the last is a real kiss. love.

and the pool is out

we have reached 80 the past two days so i thought that it might be nice to get the pool out. madelyn had more fun than i would have thought considering that we didn't really have any toys (she solved that problem as you will see), the water was very cold, and pretty windy both days.

i couldn't get her out of the pool! she really liked that the dogs would come over and take a drink from the pool. so much that she would try to make them dance. and then she got out of the pool and tried to lean over and drink like the dogs.

the main difference this year is that when the water is so cold that it takes her breath away she doesn't immediately want to get out. in fact, she barely misses a step. it makes me laugh because she is so happy and just can't catch her breath because the water is so cold. it is way too cold for me - especially when you add in the wind.

since she didn't have toys for the pool of her own she because inspired by lady dropping one of hers in and went around the yard gathering up all the dogs' toys to play with. she kept getting mad when lady when dip her head in to get her toy back off the bottom of the pool.

it is so nice to be able to spend time playing in the back yard! matt has done such a good job getting it in shape for lots of fun. it has been neat to see madelyn run over and play with some of the neighbor kids. and i think that the fresh air has done us all a lot of good.

here are some video from the past two days:

she was screaming with delight so loudly today that i was afraid the neighbors were going to come out and see what i was doing to her. at least she was laughing with the screams. love.

34 week checkup

my 34 week check-up was uneventful this morning. my belly is measuring about a week ahead (madelyn was a little small to right on track). the doctor said that she couldn't be happier with my blood pressure, heart rate, and weight gain. both she and the nurse were surprised because i didn't gain any weight since my last appointment. i was surprised too because my appetite is revving up and because he is carrying so much lower than madelyn (still higher than most) i have been able to start eating dinner again.

madelyn was really excited to go and hear the heartbeat today. as soon as the doctor put the gel on she got very focused on listening. i asked her if she could hear the heartbeat and she smiled shyly while nodding yes.

i am starting to feel the need to make my final preparations - pack a bag for the hospital, pack for madelyn to stay with neighbors, get the carrier car seat in again, stock up on pumping gear, etc. hopefully, i won't be too disappointed if i make it to or past my due date. i am just so planning and hoping for the baby to be earlier. love.

apparently tuesdays are busy

another busy day for madelyn and i. since i have tuesday mornings off i feel the need to spend every second possible away from the house. today we went grocery shopping, attended music class, went to my 34 week check-up, and had lunch with daddy before getting madelyn down for her nap. i was a slow draw will the camera today so the videos are the worst sample of what she was actually doing, but i think that the visuals will help make sense of my explanations.

madelyn likes to close doors behind her so hearing a door open and close is not that concerning - until today. i was getting ready for the morning and i heard a door open and then close. i had a moment of "gee, that really sounded like an exterior door" but i wrote it off because we have baby proof covers on the doorknobs. well, i heard a door open and close again before there was some crying. she had pinched her fingers when closing the door again. and, yes, it was the front door! she had gone out and come back in again. so we will be installing a chain catch at the top of the door this weekend as backup.

madelyn has never really paid much attention to the candle arrangement in the fireplace which is odd because she always notices candles other places (she loves to smell them) and spends a lot of time playing next to the fireplace. anyway, today she noticed them and exclaimed, "candles!", and then clasped her hands together, looked at me, and with a huge smile said, "i love it/them!" (i can't remember whether she said "it" or "them".) she did it more than once so i thought i would be able to catch it with the camera, but by the time i got back she was trying to get the candles out and was wining about it. here is what i got:

later we were getting ready to get in the car and she insisted on getting her "case" (a CD case she found somewhere this morning) to take with her. she had to bring her "case" because daddy brings a "case" to work with him (madelyn used to call it his purse, but we convinced her that it was a briefcase not a purse). as we were stepping down into the garage she told me that she was taking her case to work. and then that she was going to work with daddy. i didn't really get her to say it again, but you can see her case and hear her say "work".

i was changing madelyn's diaper before her nap and she was singing to herself. it took me a minute to realize that she was singing one of our music class songs. here are the actual lyrics:

i'm a piece of popcorn, rolling in the pan
shake me, shake me
as fast as you can.
ready, set, go!
pop, pop, pop, pop
popcorn!

she sang it trough correctly a few times for daddy before i got the camera and again it wasn't her best rendition.

and here are a few more notes that i wanted to include:

- somewhere (we think church) madelyn learned the term "jumping bean" and she asks for it often. matt snacks on trail mix most days when he first gets home from work. madelyn can hear him open that bag from anywhere in the house and comes running asking for a "jumping bean, please, daddy." matt has taken it to mean an m&m and madelyn could not be happier about the interpretation. as of last night though she asks for an "m&m".

- anytime i get my computer going upstairs madelyn asks to "skype" with her grandparents. she asks for them in pairs and then sometimes one at a time. it is just funny to me that she uses "skype" as a verb.

- madelyn can now walk up a flight of stairs without using a handrail. she can even have her arms full of toys and just walks right up the middle of the stairs without any support and will have no loss of balance.

she is so expressive and it is disappointing that i can't capture it on camera to share. basically, take what you see and amplify it by 2 or 3. love.

mommy has a name

we ran up to sam's tonight and madelyn dropped her elmo toy somewhere. matt and i split up looking for it and matt was calling out my name from time to time. of course madelyn had to join in and was calling out, "michelle, where are you? michelle!". i asked matt if she was saying what i thought she was and he was happy to report, "yes." (you might remember that matt hated it when she called him, "matt".) love.

"bye, ya'll"

today madelyn insisted on taking her ball and bat to the park. shewas pretty cute walking down the street with her bat and ball. as we walked she was calling out to all her friends that she wanted to see at the park. then she was telling me that she was a "big kid."

after saying goodbye to all her friends we were walking back up the hill to go home. she kept turning around and calling out "bye, ya'll"! i guess it was just a matter of time before she picked that one up from me.

she was wearing another dress as a shirt because while she isn't interested in putting a shirt on, she does like to pick a dress to wear and then i add pants. love.

behind bars

madelyn loves playing with our dogs in the basement. she was having such a great time playing while i was working in the office. today's fun was playing in the larger of the dogs' cages. she even brought in some crayons and paper and sat in there drawing for a while. she was also insisting on feeding them their food by bringing it to them. and after a while she had to chew on some of it herself. she always tells me "the dog food is yummy".

here is the cutest conversation from the morning:

"be back, maggie, okay." and then she ran towards the stairs.

"madelyn, where are you going?"

"getting pants for maggie."

"getting maggie pants?"

"yea!"

"why?"

"to go to the park. pants for maggie to the park."

i had to convince her that maggie did not need pants and that it was raining so we wouldn't be going to the park. i don't know where she got the idea that maggie needed pants, but it made me laugh.

here is some video of her laughing at maggie from inside the cage.

other sayings that have me amused these days:

- "hurt myself. okay." - the "myself" was something new today, but the declaration that she is "okay" has become a regular part of her recovery routine. she might even be crying, but she still manages to get out an "okay" through the tears.

- "where are you?" - she calls it out, loudly, when she is looking for someone or something. sometimes even if she can see them/it. when we were at the zoo she was calling out "tiger, where are you?" entertaining all the adults around her who giggled to themselves. i haven't been able to get it on video yet, but i hope i can because the way she says it is priceless to me.

love.

busy morning

if we don't get out of the house in the morning, there is a good chance that we won't get much done since she has been sleeping 4+ hours in the afternoon. i have tuesday mornings off, so i was looking forward to spending the morning away from the house today. and lucky for me we have lots and lots of time to get ready to leave because madelyn wakes up at 6am (or earlier). the library opens at 9:30 so we were there when they unlocked the doors. then we got to music class at 10:15 and after that the zoo at 11:45. and madelyn was delightful!

i almost didn't attempt all these stops because madelyn was in quite a mood this morning. these early morning wake-ups make her temper much shorter than normal. but i am happy to report that she cooperated, shared nicely, and was a general joy to be around all morning! the first picture is of her 'swinging' at the zoo - i loved the big smile on her face!

as we were coming around to the giraffes and elephants madelyn realized that she had pockets. she stuck both hands in as deeply as she could and was running like she was wearing a straight jacket. she was so happy about the pockets and seeing the giraffes that she had the biggest smile of pure joy on her face!

not only did we have a great time at the zoo, but she fell asleep on the ride home and stayed that way until i woke her up at 4:45! again she was passing the 4 hour mark and i wanted to get her to the park to burn off some more energy in the hope of her going to bed easily and on time.

daddy is putting her down right now and it looks like we are going to make it by 8. now if i could just get her to sleep until 7... love.

friend's bath

madelyn did not want to wear a long sleeve shirt with her sweatpants today - she wanted to wear a "dress". so we pulled out her ladybug dress from last year that now fits as a shirt. she also got to wear her hair in a "tail". all and all she was very pleased with her appearance.

we had a really nice morning - at least until the accident, but more on that in a minute. madelyn loves playing in the basement with the dogs! sometimes she loves it a little too much. on more than one occasion she has eaten their food and let them in a room they are not allowed in. today it was letting lady come in and lay on top of the guest bed (don't worry all will be washed before our next guests).

while we were upstairs for our mid-morning snack madelyn got two of daddy's travel coffee mugs off the counter. i thought that they were clean ones out of the drying rack. she carried them around for a few hours so i had felt that my assumption about them being empty was correct. that is until she went to give friend a drink. she had been pretending to drink coffee out of them and then it was friend's turn. and now friend was covered in old, cold coffee. and now in need of a bath. even though she was crying about friend's accident and the resulting mess.

madelyn willingly put friend in the garment bag, closed the washing machine door, and pushed all the buttons to start the machine. and then she realized that friend was in there and she couldn't get him back. the hysterics started all over again. she went to get her stool from the bathroom and brought it into the laundry room so that she could work on rescuing friend or at least watch him. (her shirt/dress is also in the machine because of the coffee spill.) here is some footage of her trauma - it is over 3 minutes (if she was really traumatized i would not have taken the video, but it was just momentum at this point).


she did whimper a pathetic sounding "friend" a few times while watching nemo but by the time lunch was over friend was dry (or as madelyn said "friend is hot") and she was ready for nap. friend needed a bath so it was just as well she poured coffee on him because it helped her to give him up willingly. love.

"happy easter day!"

yes, that is how madelyn wished me a happy mother's day this morning - "happy easter day". easter must have made quite an impression because she has wished me happy easter a few times now. she was able to say "happy mother's day" a few times, but mainly it was "happy easter day".

when i told her that it was time to get dressed this morning she replied "yea church! God loves, God loves!". she must have decided that we were headed to church because i was already dressed - i didn't say that we were going to church. it made me so happy for her new association with "church" - "God loves"!

after church we went to get breakfast, but it turned into lunch after we waited over an hour and a half! madelyn was starting to melt down, but then recovered after a book of stickers, some crayons and paper, and running around with some other kids. the other kids were hopping on one leg and madelyn was trying to imitate them. i love the original pancake house! it is always worth the wait.

matt finally woke madelyn up from her nap at 5:00pm (more than 4 hours of napping). plus, i think that he was excited to give me my mother's day gift - a netbook! i have been shopping them around a little because i thought that it would be better for me than our desktop computer. (a netbook is a low cost, super-small laptop style computer that is primarily for email and internet use.) i am using it to blog tonight and could not be happier with it! i was going to use my birthday money to get one, but matt totally surprised me! it will be nice not to have to run downstairs every time i need to look something up real quick.

i also got lots of surprise hugs and smiles from madelyn today. i am a lucky mommy (and wife). love.

the cons of marathon napping

so madelyn stayed up past bedtime on friday and saturday nights. she still wakes up at the same time though -6:00 or 6:30. so what do we have? a very cranky girl all morning who takes a 4 hour nap in the afternoon! normally a 4 hour nap would be good, but these are not worth having a cranky girl all morning. i mean, she is fine for the most part. she just gets to fussing a lot sooner than she normally would and it made running errands a lot more difficult. i am going to give her a few more days to get this straightened out on her own before i start waking her up after 2-1/2 hours of napping.


thankfully, she had a wonderful day with daddy on friday. i am not totally sure what all they did, but daddy reported that they had a great time! i was so thankful - that they had a good time and that i had a day to work totally uninterrupted. well, at least not interrupted by madelyn. i had forgotten how working at the computer really gets the baby going. madelyn was the same way when i would type all day. i must get my adrenaline up or something when i am focused like that because both kids have had the same reaction.

on saturday matt worked on his landscaping in the backyard - all day! he is doing such a great job back there! he finished filling the two vegetable garden boxes with their dirt and then put in the cutout landscaping behind them (all the bald spots in the grass are the joys of having dogs - that will become a project later). the cutout was a lot of work. he hand shovelled up all the sod and then used it to build up the mounds before adding the plants and more soil. he has plans for a larger one on the other side of the yard. he plans to get the vegetable seedlings in the ground later this week too. some of the neighbors have been joking that he is 'nesting' by racing through his projects outside. speaking of nesting...

i have definitely kicked into 'nesting' mode. i made a real dinner for the first time in a very long time (poor matt), cleaned out the car, put madelyn's outgrown clothes into storage, pulled the rest of the baby stuff out of storage, dusted and deep cleaned both kids rooms, did all the laundry, and cleaned both bathrooms. madelyn came to check out what i was doing while i was scrubbing her tub and wanted to help (she had helped me wipe down all the furniture in brother's room too). so i had her come with me to clean the shower in our bathroom.

i don't think that i have raved about shaklee get clean products yet, so here is my product endorsement. not only are the products great for cleaning, they are chemical free and affordable. my favorite by far is the "scour off" paste. this stuff is so powerful, smells great, and has gentle enough scrubbers to use it on our ceramic top stove (by far the best stuff i have ever used to clean it - so easy). anyway, since there are no chemicals madelyn was able to actually help me. she enjoyed dipping her scrubbing pad in the scour off and then in her cup of water before 'scrubbing' the shower. she was using a scrub brush too when i went to get the camera. she kept telling me that "cleaning is fun" and "helping scrub", but of course she clams up as soon as the camera comes out. as soon as i turned it off after this video she handed me one of the scrubber pads and told me that it was "mommy's turn to help scrub."

it was nice to feel like getting more done than the everyday tasks! i am hoping it lasts. i have the feeling that there is going to be a large goodwill drop in my future because i have the urge to purge... love.

rainy day inside

yesterday, madelyn woke up in a labeling sort of mood that has carried through to today. she has been identifying every item she can see or do. it has been a little entertaining because she carries around her little stool to reach things to identify - like "daddy's wallet".

since we would be inside all day yesterday and madelyn was asking to "paint", i decided to let maddie do her first 'arts and crafts' at home. i didn't have any particular project planned for the day, but i did have a pair of safety scissors and a hole puncher from the dollar store. these items plus a glue stick and two sheets of construction paper kept her busy most of the day. here is a sampling of her arts and crafts adventure:

"my friends" posse has been growing. she can't even carry them all in a single trip. this picture is after nap time with all the friends she could carry out of her room with her. she then climbed up into this little chair that she has been sitting in for the past few days.

in addition to her labeling spree, she has been singing up a storm. she usually sings a few words of the song over and over, but she was actually singing whole songs. not only that, but she usually doesn't really sing in music class and on tuesday she was singing loudly. usually she just dances around and claps. it has been such a joy to hear her singing all her favorite songs without any help. she has even been singing her own compositions. her favorite has been a "humpty dumpty" tune and a song with all her grandparents 'names'.

tomorrow she and daddy are going to have a fun day together. matt is taking the day off from work - his first day off since last summer! they are going to have their breakfast out together before going shopping (for mother's day per daddy) and then working in their garden. i am so jealous that i will be working! love.

"my friends"

over the past week or so madelyn's 'posse' has grown substantially to include "my friends". her friends include - friend, curious george, piglet, minnie mouse, and monkey.

even though this is a large group, she knows when someone tries to sneak into the mix and will cast them out when discovered. most of the time she will carry all of them at once, but sometimes she will start with friend and then announce that she needs to go get "more my friends".

she has spent lots of time "tuck, tuck," tucking them into her bed. she tells them all "good night" by name and gives each one a kiss before tucking them in and climbing in between them herself.

any one of "my friends" can be a stand in for friend when we leave the house. not always, but a few times now. she is really great about giving up friend willingly when we tell her that friend stays at home (so we don't loose him).

today her friends were helping her play with maggie and lady. madelyn spent most of her day out on the deck. she really likes it when she sees a neighbor that she can yell out to and say "hi". love.

summer sizes

the odd thing about being tall and slim is that sizing is next to impossible. i didn't pack up last summer's clothes for just that reason. i figured that some of her dresses could be shirts and that maybe some of her pants and shorts would finally fit in the waist.

madelyn wears anywhere from size 18 months to 4T right now. i have to try just about everything on her so we always have a 'plan b' when getting dressed in the morning just in case something doesn't quite fit. there are only a few shorts and dresses that will fit in the 18 month size. the shorts from last summer finally fit in the waist and the dresses fit but are so short that the bloomers show. last summer these same dresses came down to her mid-shin.

she is wearing a size 8/9 shoe and a size 6 diaper (for length, not width - the smaller diaper won't reach up above her hips and fall down).

this is the widest variety of sizes we have ever had to deal with at once and that is why i wanted to make a note of it. love.

oh and her second molar on the bottom came in yesterday - two more to go!

some of my favorite things

of course madelyn is just a little chatterbox, but there are a few things that either amuse or amaze me that i wanted to share:

- she understands the use of, and uses, "a lot", "stuff", "things", and "too"
- there is now a pretty complete understanding of opposites and she uses them correctly.
- she will often say things are "amazing!" - for some reason it cracks me up every time too
- when we watch shows or see characters she is familiar with she will ask for which ever characters of the group are missing. like if we are watching mickey mouse clubhouse she might ask "where did goofy go?" if he isn't in that episode.
- she will call out "okay" or "maddie okay" when she falls or bumps her head. i am pretty sure she does this because i always ask "are you okay?" when i head a thud.
- whenever the mood strikes her she will announce that she is "ready to dance". and then the second some music starts she busts a move. she has added an arm pump move to her dance routine too.
- she can now identify most shapes and colors correctly - some that i know that she didn't learn from me, like an arrow.
- when i sneeze she says "bless you, mommy". it is so sweet! sometimes my coughs and throat clearing get blessed too, but i still appreciate the gesture.
- when playing by herself she now declares that it is "friend's turn" before having friend try what ever activity she had just been doing.
- she now says "thank you" when ever i pay her a complement or praise her.

i just love what she shares with me everyday and i wanted to document some to share with you. love.

fun in the backyard

after madelyn was kind enough to sleep in until 7:30 this morning, i headed off to an hour long massage at a local spa. it was a baby shower gift from some neighbors and it was wonderful! the masseuse was a little surprised by how much tension there was in my neck and back - actually so was i. i couldn't believe how many knots there were and how long it took her to work them out. i feel so much better!

while i was out this morning, madelyn and daddy had a morning out of their own. the went to their breakfast place (einstein bagels) and a few hardware stores. they were on the hunt for gardening tools. the idea was that they could get some maddie-sized tools so that she can help daddy with their gardening this summer. unfortunately every store was out of stock.

after madelyn's nap she went looking for daddy so that she could get to work. of course she had her red snow shovel to help with, but she also liked helping with daddy's tools. i was particularly impressed with her ability to control a full-sized hammer. and now construction is complete on their two vegetable garden boxes. next will come the planting soil and a few more warm weeks before the seedlings are planted outside. matt and madelyn have been lovingly sprouting their seeds inside the house preparing for their impressive summer garden plans.

in addition to helping daddy, madelyn had some fun playing with our dogs. maggie will hold still long enough for madelyn to pet her, but lady gets way too excited about the attention and tends to knock her down. madelyn has mastered most of their commands - "drop it", "no", "sit". she has also figured out that they are bringing her the ball so that she will throw it. when she is just on the deck they bring it up the stairs and she pulls it through the gate before dropping it over the side of the deck or just down the stairs for them to chase.

while daddy finished up the second box, madelyn used it as a sandbox. maybe that will be one of his next outdoor projects... love.

"go brewers!"

last night madelyn took in her first 'tailgate' and brewers game of the season (unfortunately they lost). madelyn had a wonderful time and didn't go to bed until 9:45pm! (her normal bedtime is 8:00.) as an extra bonus, she slept until 7:30am this morning! i felt so pampered to still be in bed that late.


so we went to pick up our location balloons (balloons you tie to the car so the rest of your group can find you - in our case 80 people) on thursday night and madelyn could not have been more excited to bring home some balloons. all day yesterday when ever i would mention the baseball game she would shout "balloons!" and run up to see them where we had tied them to a dining room chair. the picture is from our trip to the game where she got to hold the two stars and "smile face" balloons.



tailgating with matt's co-workers madelyn got to learn several new words, but her favorite was "grill" or "grilling". i think that it helped that daddy was the grill master of the tailgate. she also got spoiled with more junk and sugar foods than she has ever had before. she really liked this huge rice crispy treat (with blue food coloring for the brewers). i don't think she has had so much sugar in a single sitting before. she was also really excited to run over and give daddy a bite at the grills. the first time she went to share was my idea, but she decided that she needed to go back later and give him another bite. she must have gotten her fill of sweets because she turned down a juice box in favor of water when we got into the stadium for the game.



i wish that i had been able to get video of her cheering on the brewers and clapping along with all the stadium chants/cheers but it was a difficult angle and so, so loud where we were sitting. she loved all the organ songs and would get out of her seat to dance. she did so much better than last season! i am sure that being older helped, but she also had her own seat this time and the game went by much faster (three-up, three-down pace).


she particularly liked the pitching. she would see the guy wind up and say "the pitch!" as he would throw it. i think she was able to follow the hits, but can't be totally sure. she did look in the right place the whole path of the ball and said that she could see it, but who knows.


after the sausage race (another high point for madelyn) we sat through one more inning before calling it a night. she was still doing great, but we knew that we were on borrowed time and

needed to get her (and me) home and in bed. plus the profanity in the college groups sitting around us was increasing as their beer counts did. (matt and maddie's creepy glasses were supplied by one of matt's co-workers and everyone wore them for pictures - even maddie.)


she called out "go brewers" several times on the way to the car and was marching to her own chant of "march, march, march" that was entertaining those walking around us. she did stop and look back towards the stadium when the crowd would let out a big cheer. i think she did so well because she was just feeding on the energy of everyone around her and expected her to crash in the car, but she stayed awake the whole ride home.


once we were home and ready for bed, she almost passed on a book but realized what she had said no to and quickly changed her mind. however, she only let me read it once before rolling over and saying good night. love.



p.s. the first of her 2-year molars has made its official appearance - at least it was the first time i got to see it.